Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Deciding between Nikko & Kamakura

I am planning to visit Tokyo for a week in Mid may and wanted to find out about some options for day trip or 2 day trips. I have lost hope for visiting Kyoto as all the hotels %26amp; Ryokans I have tried to reserve are fully booked. As I have mentioned in an earlier post I am going with my father who is heart patient, we do not want to engage in long uphill walks to temples etc. Keeping this in mind would you suggest Nikko or Kamakura? Thanks everyone.

Deciding between Nikko %26amp; Kamakura

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;I have lost hope for visiting Kyoto as all the hotels %26amp; Ryokans I have tried to reserve are fully booked.%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

Umm, this shouldn%26#39;t be the case as mid May is not a busy season--it%26#39;s right after Golden week. Do you mind posting exact dates and your price range? Maybe I can help you look. Kyoto is not to be missed.

Deciding between Nikko %26amp; Kamakura

I am a little surprised myself as I chose mid May as for my travel to Japan as I thought it would be the low season for travel. I would prefer a Ryokan in Kyoto but hotel would be fine. My preferred trip dates to Kyoto would be May 20-22, 2009. My budget is upto to $200/night for 3 adutls.

Thanks for your help. I would just love to go to Kyoto and feeling very disappointed about being turned down by hotels Ryokans.

I just did a quick search and I see many vacancies on Jalan, a Japanese version of Hotels.com. I don%26#39;t think you would have a problem finding a ryokan in your range, but sometimes you encounter difficulty when you look for a room for 3 adults. I%26#39;ll take a look again when I have more time. I have to go enjoy some California wine now :-)

The following hotels are available:

www.kyoto-h.tokyuhotels.co.jp/en/rates.html

Don%26#39;t let ';Table of basic rates'; scare you away. When you reserve online, the room rate for 3 persons will be a bit over 20,000 yen with service charge and tax included.

kyoto-centuryhotel.co.jp/cgi-bin/…index.cgi

I can%26#39;t find English website for this one, but rooms are available on 5/20 starting at 18,000 yen. This hotel is right next to Kyoto Station and is very convenient for sightseeing. Here is the phone number. From the US: 011 81 75-351-0111

Ryokans usually serve dinner and breakfast, so it%26#39;s hard to find a decent one for $200/3 persons. The following ryokans have ';room only'; option:

https:/…index.html

Kawashima Ryokan listed on this link fits your bill:

japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kyoto/index.htm

Scroll down to the last category.

I hope this helps.

Shibuyakko,

Thanks for being so kind and offering to look up places to stay in Kyoto. I am very hopeful about going to Kyoto now. I guess I should prepare to increase my budget a little more. The location of the hotel or Ryokan is very important for me as I will only have about 1 1/2 day to see some of the important sites in Kyoto. I will contact the hotels you have recommended. I also saw on the Granvia Hotel site ( JR hotel at the station) that they give a special discount for JR pass holders.

Is Kyoto very crowded in the week of Ma

You are welcome.

The Granvia is an excellent hotel--comfortable, super convenient with great service. It is available on May 20th, too. I didn%26#39;t mention it because it would cost much more than $200 a night, even with JR Pass discount. This is the hotel I usually stay when I go to Kyoto and I have stayed in almost all well known hotels there.

It wouldn%26#39;t be too crowded in mid May. You can see a lot in 1.5 days if you plan it well. Please research itinerary in Kyoto on TA and let us know if you have questions.

This is a good link:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2158.html

Granvia is indeed a very nice hotel and it%26#39;s right at the station. Expensive though.

Not having too much luck on the hotel front. The Kyoto century hotel is completely booked - I called them. They Tokyu hotel does not have very good reviews, so I am little hesitant to stay there. I will call the Granvia about the JR pass holder special.

I was finally able to get a room at the Kyoto Century hotel on www.Japanican.com at a fabulous rate. The hotel had told me that no rooms were available when I called yesterday. Anyway finally I can look forward to my trip to Kyoto.

These experts on TA did good by steering you back to Kyoto, assuming you get a JR pass in LA. Trains are great but expensive. You can still do Nikko and Kamakura as half day trips. American hotel sites seem to show ';booked'; often but seem empty when you get there. I bet it%26#39;s the same for ryokans.